[New post] 5 Woodland Christian girls volleyball players recognized by Central Valley California League with accolades
Shaun Holkko posted: "The Woodland Christian High School girls varsity volleyball team overcame early inexperience this season to ultimately win a share of the Central Valley California League title for the first time since 2019. The Cardinals finished the 2023 campaign at " Daily Democrat
The Woodland Christian High School girls varsity volleyball team overcame early inexperience this season to ultimately win a share of the Central Valley California League title for the first time since 2019.
The Cardinals finished the 2023 campaign at 19-10 overall with a 15-1 CVCL record. Woodland Christian advanced to the Division V CIF Sac-Joaquin Section Girls Volleyball Playoffs and earned a home victory against John Adams Academy in the first round. The Cardinals' season came to an end in the quarterfinals at Bret Harte.
Woodland Christian shared the CVCL championship this year with Sacramento Waldorf, who was also 15-1 in league play. The Waves beat the Cardinals over four sets in the second game of the regular season. Woodland Christian was without one of its co-captains for half of its lone league loss.
Junior libero Paisley Carinio injured her right knee during the match that began CVCL competition on Aug. 22. She exited with the contest tied at one set a piece and Sacramento Waldorf won the next two frames to pull off the upset against a team with eight underclassmen on the roster.
Through 10 matches, the young Cardinals had two wins. After that, Woodland Christian lost only twice, winning 17-of-19 matches to conclude the year.
On Sept. 21 in Fair Oaks, the Cardinals achieved redemption. With a healthy Carinio leading the charge, Woodland Christian swept Sacramento Waldorf on its home court and cruised through the remainder of CVCL play to clinch a share of the title.
Five Cardinals recently received recognition from the CVCL for their play during the 2023 season. Carinio was chosen as the league's Most Valuable Player. Senior Rylee Zuniga and sophomore Bella Galeazzi were selected to the All-CVCL first team. Junior Emma Hedrick earned a spot on the league's second team. Freshman Gabbi Jaime was given an honorable mention from the CVCL.
Carinio led the league in digs (311) by a wide margin, 40 ahead of Woodland Christian sophomore Malaya Armstrong who came in second.
"(Carinio) was a great leader out on the court," said coach Karen Gellen. "She was the leader in digs for our team and had a really strong presence in all of our league matches."
Zuniga was the team's only senior, serving as co-captain alongside Carinio. After receiving an honorable mention as a sophomore, she earned a first team nod in 2023 by ranking in the top five of three CVCL statistical categories from the opposite hitter position. Zuniga was fourth in kills (138) & serving aces (75), respectively, and fifth in hitting percentage (0.176).
"(Zuniga) took a lot of great swings on the right side," Gellen recalled. "She and Bella were our kills leaders on the team. That's probably what the league recognized was her ability to terminate balls on the right. She was also a leader out on the court."
Whether if she was a hitter on the outside or in the middle, opposing teams always had to be ready for Galeazzi's spikes. The superb sophomore made the first team by finishing second in kills (163), fourth in hitting (0.217%) and fifth in blocks (16).
"(Galeazzi) definitely did a great job for us in the middle and came through with some really great kills in critical times," Gellen explained. "She also was extremely positive out there. Even when things weren't going great, she worked really hard to stay positive and pick up her teammates."
Hedrick had a strong junior season at opposite hitter to earn a second team selection. She ranked fourth in digs (142), ninth in kills (64) and 10th in aces (45).
"(Hedrick) worked really hard. During league a lot of times she was playing all six rotations, especially early on in the season," Gellen recalled. "She did a nice job both serving, digging and taking swings on the outside."
Jaime's emergence as a freshman phenom throughout the year warranted a CVCL honorable mention. The middle hitter finished second in hitting (0.291%) and sixth in kills (112) & blocks (14), respectively.
"It's significant because the committee that chooses, favors the upperclassmen quite a bit," Gellen said. "As a freshman, for (Jaime) to get the honor, it's a pretty big deal. She was our most consistent hitter up front. I'm really excited to see what she does going forward."
In 11 seasons as Cardinals head coach, Gellen has won four section titles and eight league championships. With Zuniga being the only Cardinal to depart in the Class of 2024, Woodland Christian will return a majority of its roster next year for the first season in the Sierra Delta League. Therefore, the Cardinals will certainly be in the mix for the SDL title next year.
"It's really exciting, we have a lot of potential," Gellen foreshadowed. "We have a lot of strong, committed volleyball players that want to do well. They've formed a pretty good bond through the course of the season as it went along. I think they will have both the mental game as well as the fundamentals going into next season. We have lots of opportunity to get better.
"They're already playing well together, figured out the mental requirements for playing well as a team and their fundamentals are improved. I know a lot of them are playing in the offseason. Next August we're going to start in a much better place than we started last August, which bodes well for the season."
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